United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets is the primary faction in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. It was a union of various planetary governments that agreed to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government based on the principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation, scientific development, space exploration, and mutual defense. One of the most powerful political states in known space, the Federation consisted of over 150 member worlds spread across eight thousand light-years by the mid-24th century. Unlike its imperial neighbours which expanded via the conquest and subjugation of other worlds, the Federation's member worlds joined willingly and were viewed as equals within the Federation's democratic society. History For a full account of Federation history, click here. The Federation was formed on 12 August 2161, the successor to the Coalition of Planets. The founding member states of United Earth, the Confederacy of Vulcan, the Andorian Empire, the United Planets of Tellar, and the Alpha Centauri Concordium were subsequently joined by numerous other worlds to form one of the largest states in the galaxy. Alongside periods of peaceful relations and expansion, the Federation was also involved with numerous conflicts, some of the largest and most prolonged being with the Klingons in the 23rd century, and the Borg and the Dominion in the 24th century. Politics The Federation is a representative republic, with an elected president as the head of the entire interstellar state. An election is held every four years, and a president may serve for an unlimited number of terms. Political and direct administrative power is held within the Federation Council, which is composed of one councillor from every member world. There is no limit as to how many terms a person may serve as councillor. T'Latrek of Vulcan, for instance, served on the Federation Council for nearly a century. Each individual Member determines how its councillors will be chosen; the First Minister of Bajor, for instance, nominates that world's councillor and the Chamber of Ministers ratifies him or her, while the electorates of many other members elect their councillors directly. The Federation government has several executive departments whose heads form the Presidential Cabinet, who advise the president on their issues of jurisdiction and run their departments on a day-to-day basis. Cabinet members can have strong influence on Federation policy based upon their work with the president and the appropriate members of the Federation Council. Membership Click here for a list of all known Federation member worlds. Admittance into the Federation was either by invitation or successful petition of a world or civilization desirous of joining. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of certain requirements. Firstly, the government of the prospective member submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the prospective member's culture followed, including copying records from the applicant's central computer archives. This investigation could take several years, and was done to ascertain whether or not the culture genuinely shared the values of the Federation: values of benevolence, peaceful co-existence and co-operation, the rule of law, and equal rights and justice. Even before the investigation, the prospective member had to meet certain requirements. These were as follows: * Applicants had to possess a significant level of technology. The baseline requirement for Federation membership was that the applicant civilization had achieved warp-flight capability. * The applicant world must have achieved a stable, centralised government and a unified society with no outstanding social or political conflicts. * No form of caste discrimination was to be practiced. Exploration and defense Main article: Starfleet Starfleet was the deep-space exploratory and defensive service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal functions were the advancement of Federation knowledge about the galaxy, the advancement of Federation knowledge of science and technology, and the defense of the Federation. In addition, it also played a significant diplomatic role. As per its mandate of deep-space exploration, its personnel were frequently brought into contact with cultures and sentient species whose existences were previously unknown to the Federation. Federation Starfleet officers therefore acted as official representatives of the Federation in these cases. Also, Federation Starfleet vessels were frequently used to ferry ambassadors on diplomatic missions. Being dedicated to the advancement of science and fostering peace among the cultures of the galaxy, the Federation had no outstanding military, though Starfleet did possess advanced weaponry used to defend the Federation from hostile forces. They never actively sought conflict, only resorting to it when all other options had been exhausted. For centuries, the Federation's defensive capabilities were adequate enough to protect them from imperialist rivals such as the Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians. However, in the mid-24th century, Starfleet came into conflict with the cybernetic pseudo-race known as the Borg: a hive-minded collective that sought to forcefully assimilate other species in order to achieve "perfection". The Borg proved to be an overwhelmingly powerful force, capable of adapting to whatever weapons and strategies were used against them, making them all but unstoppable. While the Federation survived its initial conflict with the Borg, the losses they had suffered forced them to reconsider just how prepared they were to face the Borg and any threats like them in the future, leading to a desperate effort to bolster the Federation's defences by designing new weapons and more battle-capable starships. Economy By the founding of the Federation in the 22nd century, capitalism was no longer the economic system of Earth, being replaced by the New World Economy. Under this system, material needs and money no longer existed and Humanity had grown out of its infancy. People were no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things, effectively eliminating hunger and want and the need for possessions. The challenge and driving force then were to self-improvement, self-enrichment, and the betterment of all Humanity. Despite this, the Federation did engage in trade with friendly powers and organizations. Although most items and services were provided by the Federation, some luxury items and services could still be requisitioned as late as the 24th century using Federation credits. The Federation continued to deal with other cultures which had money-based economies, and private businesses from other races such as the Ferengi were sometimes permitted on Federation outposts, despite being scornful of the Federation's disregard for currency. Territory For a list of Federation member states and colony worlds, click here.Category:Governments Category:Alliances Category:Star Trek Category:Republics Category:United Federation of Planets